Chapter 158 (Chapter 158: Changing Personnel)
Chapter 158 Replacing the Personnel
The night of the full moon arrived quickly. A large group of martial arts practitioners stood outside the palace gates, each holding a ribbon and clamoring to enter and witness the duel between Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng. They possessed ribbons issued by the royal family; why couldn't they enter?
The ribbons did indeed originate from the palace, but there were only five. After all, it was the palace; allowing five outsiders in was already quite generous. The emperor had instructed Lu Xiaofeng to select five people to enter the palace and observe the final battle, but he hadn't expected a whole group to arrive.
The guards at the palace gate were truly at a loss; they couldn't distinguish which ribbons were real and which were fake. If they let them in, they couldn't bear the responsibility if anything happened. But if they didn't let them in, it looked like the men were about to start a fight.
The commander of the guards ordered his men to stand guard at the palace gates, while he turned and went back to see the Emperor. Only the Emperor could decide whether to allow these people into the palace. As he ran towards the palace, he complained inwardly. "How can Lu Xiaofeng be so unreliable? And now, of all times, he's disappeared, and I can't find him anywhere."
Just as these martial arts practitioners were about to break through the palace gates, the commander of the guards returned. "The Emperor has decreed that anyone with a ribbon may enter the palace."
Despite the error that turned five people into dozens, the imperial dignity could not be compromised, so the emperor still agreed to let these people into the palace. However, they were accompanied by many more guards who watched them almost the entire way.
"Where is he? Why isn't he here yet?"
"Yeah, the moon is already high in the sky, why isn't it here yet?"
"Could something have happened?"
"How could that be? I think maybe they just don't want to come anymore and have found another place to fight."
In front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, a group of people were growing impatient, but they still hadn't seen Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng. They were getting restless and began to grumble under their breath.
"They're here! Look, they're here!"
Under the moonlight, a figure swept over the heads of the crowd and stood on the Hall of Supreme Harmony. He was dressed in white, as cold as snow.
"It's Ximen Chuixue."
Where is Ye Gucheng?
“It’s over there.”
On the other side, a nimble figure appeared on the Hall of Supreme Harmony. He was also dressed in white, holding a sword in his hand, and looked somewhat indifferent.
"Huh?" Lu Xiaofeng couldn't help but exclaim.
"What's wrong?" Hua Manlou asked, standing next to Lu Xiaofeng.
Yes, Hua Manlou was also in Kyoto. He originally didn't want to come to the final battle; for Hua Manlou, who loved life, no battle would interest him. But Lu Xiaofeng insisted that he come with him, so he had no choice but to go.
"This Ye Gucheng, why does he seem a bit short?" Lu Xiaofeng looked at Ye Gucheng on the Taihe Hall. "I always feel that he is a bit short, but when I look at him, he doesn't seem to be."
Hua Manlou asked, "Could you be mistaken?"
"Perhaps." Lu Xiaofeng frowned. "Hua Manlou, I have a feeling something's not right today. I feel like something's going to happen."
Hua Manlou said, "In that case, let's be more careful."
Lu Xiaofeng looked at Hua Manlou and asked with a smile, "Hua Manlou, don't you think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill? You're being suspicious of things without any evidence."
“You’re being cautious, not paranoid,” Hua Manlou said. “Besides, if nothing happens, that would be great. If something does happen, it’s always good to be prepared.”
Lu Xiaofeng smiled and put his arm around Hua Manlou's shoulder. "Oh, Hua Manlou, you understand me best."
Hua Manlou smiled and stepped aside, causing Lu Xiaofeng's arm to slip through his fingers. "Your arm is too heavy."
"Alright," Lu Xiaofeng shrugged. "I won't get close."
Just then, Ximen Chuixue, who was on the roof of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, spoke up: "You are not Ye Gucheng."
"What?!" The crowd gasped in shock upon hearing this. They all looked at Ye Gucheng, but couldn't see anything wrong with him. If he wasn't Ye Gucheng, then who could he be?
"Oh no!" Lu Xiaofeng immediately turned and headed towards the emperor's study. He was extremely anxious, worried that if he arrived too late, it would be all over.
Meanwhile, the emperor was still in her study reviewing memorials when she heard someone enter from outside the palace gates. Without looking up, she said, "Didn't I tell you that no one is allowed to bother me?"
The person still hadn't left. The emperor looked up in annoyance and saw someone standing not far away who looked six or seven parts like her, wearing a dragon robe. She put down her pen, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Who are you?"
"I am the master of this palace, and also the master of the world," the man replied.
"Hahaha..." The emperor found it extremely funny and couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Although you and I look somewhat alike, you are a man and I am a woman. How could you be me? Prince of the South, this is not funny."
As soon as she said that, the other person's face immediately turned ugly. "Do you know who I am?"
"I know." The emperor leaned back, looking relaxed and at ease. "Ever since the Prince of Nan discovered that you and I looked somewhat alike, he has kept you hidden in his mansion and never let you come to the capital. But unfortunately, it was precisely because he never let you go out that I noticed something was wrong, so I sent someone to take a look around the Prince of Nan's mansion. I discovered your little secret a long time ago."
She simply found it amusing, so she chose not to expose it. Anyway, it wasn't a big deal, and it was still under her control; treating it as a joke was fine. However, the emperor didn't expect that the Prince of Nan's refusal to allow his heir to come to the capital wasn't due to concerns for his safety, but rather for other reasons.
She genuinely felt that both the Prince of Nan and his son were probably a bit off their minds; this wasn't the way to replace someone. Replacing a woman with a man—anyone could see the problem, right? Unless the Prince of Nan could really keep up the act forever. But judging from his current state, he'd be lucky to keep it up for a month.
"You..." The Prince of the South had expected to see shock and fear on the Emperor's face, but instead, he only saw amusement and disdain. He felt a tightness in his chest. "You, a woman, can never truly control the entire Great Zhou. Once I replace you, people will speak for me. So what if the whole world knows I'm a man? They won't expose me. A man is the more popular choice than a woman as Emperor."
emperor:"……"
"Sigh." She sighed deeply. "I thought it would be fun, but it turns out he's just an idiot. How boring." Why did the Prince of Nan think his son could replace her? Was it really because both father and son were idiots?
"What are you saying?!" The Prince of the South roared in fury. He didn't want to see her shock or disdain on the Emperor's face, because that would mean she hadn't cared about him at all from the beginning.
"I am neither a man nor a woman, I am the Emperor." The Emperor sat up straight. "I wield the sword of the Son of Heaven and make decisions for all the people."
"You..." The Prince of the South was once again so angry that he couldn't speak. "Why aren't you coming out yet? Come out now and kill her!"
A gust of wind blew by, and a man slowly walked in from outside.
The emperor smiled as he looked at him, "Ye Gucheng, Lord of Baiyun City?"
"Yes." Ye Gucheng nodded.
"Alas, you are a beautiful woman, yet you have become a thief. But then again, you are a member of the Ye family, so it is understandable." The emperor shook her head regretfully, and then she suddenly thought of an idea. "Actually, if you want to restore your country, there is another way. You marry me and become one of my concubines. I guarantee I will give birth to one of your sons. How about that? This is the simplest way for you to restore your country, and you don't have to worry about implicating the people of Baiyun City. Isn't that wonderful?"
Ye Gucheng's face twisted for a moment.
"Master, don't believe her!" Seeing Ye Gucheng's silence, the Prince of the Southern Kingdom assumed he was swayed and quickly interjected, "This woman cannot be trusted. She's promiscuous; several men in the harem are vying for her attention. She won't bear your child. We are your master; we are on your side. I..."
"Wait, let me clarify, I'm not that much of a womanizer." The emperor interrupted the prince's long-winded speech. "My harem consists of only a handful of women, not even as many as your concubines. How can you say I'm a womanizer? Besides, I'm the emperor, it's not a problem for me to like a few more people, is it?"
The Prince of the South glared at the Emperor through gritted teeth. "Then will you really give birth to Ye Gucheng's child?" "No." The Emperor smiled. "I was just lying to him. It would be best if he were willing to become my man, but if he is not, I have nothing to lose."
"How could you be so shameless?" The Prince of the South looked at the Emperor in disbelief. "How do you resemble a woman?"
"I have said, I am the Emperor." The Emperor said with a stern face, "The Prince of Nan has committed treason and should be executed on the spot."
As soon as she finished speaking, a figure descended from the sky, followed by a cold light that headed towards the Prince of the South.
"Clang—!"
Ye Gucheng used his sword to deflect the opponent's sword strike. He looked at her and said, "Shadowless Sword Token, how about it?"
“It’s me.” Ling Hao smiled at Ye Gucheng. “Lord Ye, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Please excuse my rudeness.”
"Impossible!" The Crown Prince of the Southern Kingdom took a few steps back and fell to the ground. "You clearly left the capital, how did you come back?"
“I’ve been back for a long time.” Ling Hao’s gaze was fixed on Ye Gucheng. “Quite a few people know I’m back. You don’t even know that? And you still want to rebel?”
"You worthless wretch..." The Prince of the South's words were cut short as he was kicked to the ground and then trampled underfoot. He stared at the person who had done it, his eyes filled with disbelief. "You're still alive?"
Gongzi Yu didn't even glance at the Prince of the South, then looked at the Emperor and said, "Sister, let's finish this quickly. We need to go back and rest."
His sister had said too much to them. In his opinion, as long as everyone was killed, the matter would be resolved. Why go through all this trouble? Because he couldn't enjoy the moon with Linghao, Gongzi Yu was very unhappy and wanted to go on a killing spree.
The emperor, however, did not look at Gongzi Yu, but instead looked at Ling Hao, saying, "Ah Hao, thank you for your trouble."
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Author's note: Goodnight, muah! [kissing emoji]
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